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Friday Night March 19th

Meditation 101.

Saturday March 20th

Day-Long Retreat
The Alchemy of Awareness:
Turning Dung into Heart-Fuel

with Josh Summers

Meditation 101

Friday, March 19th, 2010
6:15 PM - 8:15 PM
Erector Square Location
Fee: $25

What is meditation?
Why bother with meditation?
How does one actually meditate?
This introductory workshop will break the practice of Insight Meditation into accessible tools so that you feel empowered and able to take your spiritual journey to the next level.

The Alchemy of Awareness: Turning Dung into Heart-Fuel
or Knowing and Walking the Path
A Day-Long Retreat

Saturday, March 20th, 2010
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Erector Square Location
Fee: Pre-register by March 10th $65, thereafter $85

The spiritual journey is often portrayed as an ascending staircase towards greater and greater stages of bliss. But it ain't! Obstacles are an inevitable and invaluable part of the path. Seen with wisdom, these boulders are 'heavenly messengers', helping us to cultivate the spiritual faculties of the Heart. If new to meditation, please attend Friday evening's event: Meditation 101.

A day-long reteat of Insight Meditation and Yin Yoga is the perfect opportunity to relax and align. It is a day to look clearly and deeply into the very aspirations of the Heart that matter most. Held in silence, the retreat's structure will alternate between periods of sitting meditation and Yin Yoga, balanced with a dharma talk, Q and A and closing ceremony. Appropriate for all levels, from seasoned yogis to complete beginners. There will be a one-hour break for lunch.

Insight Meditation is a training in moment to moment, non-judgmental awareness. This training leads to various benefits such as stress-reduction, clarity of mind, and a more compassionate connection with the world around us.

Yin Yoga will be used to deeply open the body and circulate the energy between sittings. Yin Yoga is a complementary yoga practice to the more dynamic and invigorating yoga styles that are predominant today. In Yin Yoga, floor postures are held passively for several minutes in order to access a safe and positive 'stress' on the deep layers of connective tissue in the body. Physically, Yin Yoga restores and maintains the natural mobility of the joints, primarily between the navel and the knees. Energetically, Yin Yoga opens the body's meridian system, which enhances the body's energetic flow and supports emotional equilibrium. And as this practice emphasizes stillness and silence, Yin Yoga prepares both the body and the mind for deeper experiences in meditation.

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About Josh Summers

Josh is licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Medicine and certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). He holds a Masters in Oriental Medicine from the New England School of Acupuncture, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University. Josh is co-author of The Buddha's Playbook: Strategies for Enlightened Living.

Josh began studying yoga in the early nineties with a gifted Iyengar yoga teacher in New York City named James Murphy. Since then he has spent several years living abroad in India, Taiwan and Burma where he has studied both yoga and meditation. As his interest in vipassana or insight meditation has developed, so too has his interest in more contemplative forms of yoga practice. With a professional background in Oriental Medicine and a personal passion for the dharma, Josh fell in love with Yin Yoga as a beautiful synthesis of these two interests.

Josh's classes emphasize safe alignment, the cultivation of moment-to-moment awareness and the potential for freedom in the here and now. For more about Josh go to joshsummers.net.

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